Phrase guide

flame war

noun · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

noun

Meaning 1

An argument consisting entirely or largely of flames by various parties that serve only to escalate the dispute.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: Internet, dated

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From flame + war.

Across languages

Translations

7 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Chinese Mandarin: 謾罵戰 /谩骂战 (mànmàzhàn) — A written dispute
  • Finnish: polemiikki — A written dispute
  • French: polémique — A written dispute
  • Polish: flame war — A written dispute
  • Portuguese: flame war — A written dispute
  • Russian: флейм (flejm) — A written dispute
  • Russian: срач (srač) — A written dispute